Iran has a rich history. It had several ancient civilizations. Such as Elam, Medes, and Persia. There was even an ancient medical school in Iran! Zoroastrianism became the religion of Iran b4 Islam. Alexander the Great destroyed the Persian Empire. An Islamic dynasty came to power in Iran and persecuted people of other religions. The invasion of the Mongols had a big impact on Iran. Iran was once ruled by a Shah. Then there was an Islamic Revolution. Now it's ruled by Islamic fundamentalism.
This kingdom started over 5,000 years ago. It was created when several states in southwestern Iran came together. Susa was the capital of Elam. Elam had its own language called Linear Emite. They later used cuneiform to write with. The Elamites liked Babylonian art, so they imitated it. Sometimes a Mesopotamian state would conquer Elam and rule 4 several centuries. Elam controlled parts of Sumer sometime during the 3rd millennium BCE. Kassites invaded Elam. Elam may have experienced a dark age at this time.
Elamites were polytheistic and they had deities and beliefs similar to the Mesopotamians. Temples and ziggurats were created 4 deities. Kiririsha and Pinikir were the most powerful goddesses in Elam. The most high god was Khumban. Inshushinak was the patron deity of Susa.
This kingdom was located in northwestern Iran. This kingdom started around 750 BCE. The Medians were composed of at least 6 tribes. One of those tribes were the Magi. The Magi were similar to the Brahmins in India. They later became the priests of Zoroastrianism. Medians had their own language. They worshipped their deities at fire temples. Medes was ruled by Assyria from time to time. Later on, it was absorbed into Perian Empire.
This kingdom was a vassal of Medes till 550 BCE. Cyrus the Great was the 1st king of the Persian empire. He conquered Medes, Lydia, Ionia, and Babylonia. His son Cambyses II incorporated Kemet into the empire. Cambyses cousin Darius became the next Persian emperor. Darius ruled an empire that stretched from the Balkans to India. Aramaic was the language of this empire. There were many different ethnic groups in this empire.
This religion became the state religion of Persia. Its beliefs were spread throughout the empire. This religion was created by a prophet Zoroaster. B4 this religion took off, people were polytheistic. He taught Persians to only worship Ahura Mazda. Ahura Mazda was supremely good. There is an evil god named Angra Mainyu. Ahura and Angra will battle each other until the end of time.
Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire. The Greeks destroyed temples and the capital of Persia. This was because a Greek city was destroyed by the Persians. Cyprus the Great tomb was also destroyed. Alexander regretted the destruction. Greeks looked up to the Persians because they were so civilized. The Persians funded the Spartans when they were at war with Athens.
Academy of Gondishapur
The lessons at this school were philosophy, medicine, science, and theology. When Byzatinian emperors closed educational centers the scholars went to the academy. A lot of Greek, Syriac, Indian, and Chinese intellectual texts were translated in the academy. Professors created hospitals around this academy.
Arabs were able to conquer Persia because it was weakened after warring with Byzantine. Arabs conquered Iraq and the later they conquered Iran. Over time the Iranians became Muslims. People who practiced Zoroastrianism were persecuted. They had to pay a tax; if they didn't they were killed, imprisoned, or enslaved. There were similarities between Zoroastrianism and Islam. This made it easier 4 Zoroastrianists to covert. Persians had a big effect on the Islamic Golden Age. They may have been the greatest Islamic scholars.
The Mongols invaded Iran in 1219 CE. They tried to be diplomatic with Iran, but their efforts failed. Ghengis Khan sent 2 ambassadors to Iran and they were murdered. They used Chinese catapults to destroy cities. The Mongols killed over 50% of the Iranians and they destroyed partially or totality the Islamic Golden Age. Mongols ruled Iran 4 a century.
There were 2 kings from the Pahlavi dynasty. They were called Shah (King of Kings). The 1st Shah was Reza Shah Pahlavi. He overthrew the Qajar dynasty in 1921. He was a general in the army and he was backed by the British. He modernized Iran by having railways and trains & factories created, increased the length of the highway, supported women rights, etc. He was friendly with Iranian Jews. He changed Persia name into Iran. He made it law to wear European clothes. He clashed with religious leaders.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was the last king of this dynasty. He was the son of Reza Shah Pahlavi. He became king in 1941. The U.S. and British supported a certain prime minister and Mohammad was scared he would be overthrown. He removed the European backed prime minister from office. He westernized Iran like his father b4 him. He also persecuted followers of Baha'i. Women had rights during his reign.
The Shah ran away during the revolution because he was afraid of being murdered. Ruhollah Khomeini was the leader of the Islamic Revolution. He became the Supreme Leader of Iran. He turned Iran into a theocracy. Some Iranians didn't like the Shah because they saw him as a puppet as the U.S. Women played a big role in this revolution. Iraq attacked Iran to stop the revolution on behavest of the U.S. Khomeini wanted all Islamic countries to become Islamic Republics. Most of them are monarchies. The creation of Hezbollah was inspired by the Islamic Revolution.
Government- The Islamic Republic of Iran is theocratic. The chief of state is the Supreme Leader. The president is the head of the government. It has 3 branches of government. There are 19 political parties in Iran.
Military- Iran has an army, navy, air force, and law enforcement.
Economy- Most of its $ come from Oil and Natural Gas.
Demographics: There are over 80 million people in Iran. There are 7 major ethnic groups in Iran. They are as followed: Persians, Kurds, Arabs, Turks, Lur, Azeri, and Baloch. Farsi is the most popular languages in Iran. Arabic is popular too.
Iran is a great country!!!! It has several great ancient civilizations. It was destroyed by the Greeks and Mongols. It was able to recover both times. It had a great medical school and hospitals. Arabs brought Islam to Iran. B4 Iran was Islamic its state religion was Zoroastrianism. Persians had had a huge impact on the Islamic Golden Age. Kings of Persia were known as Shah. Now it is an Islamic theocracy because of the revolution.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Iran
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elam
http://looklex.com/e.o/elam.religion.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medes
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=azv
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Iranian_medicine
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18803290
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_of_Gondishapur
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamization_of_Iran
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquest_of_Persia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pahlavi_dynasty
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Revolution
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ir.html
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